SAN ANTONIO – Apparently, Jim Furyk still has a little pop left in that 42-year-old body.
Despite ranking 166th on the PGA Tour in driving distance, at 273 yards a pop, Furyk let it rip on the par-5 finishing hole at TPC San Antonio to vault into the final group at the Valero Texas Open.
With 263 yards to his target, Furyk smoked a full-bore 3-wood that settled some 50 feet from the hole. He two-putted from there for a 3-under 69 and 8-under 208 total, putting him two shots behind Billy Horschel.
If he was excited about the prospect of ending a 30-month winless drought, Furyk didn’t show it. “I’ve been around this game too long to predict anything or expect anything,” he said.
Since September 2010, when he won both the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup title, Furyk has experienced his fair share of heartbreak. Most vividly, he struggled down the stretch last year at The Olympic Club, when he had a chance to hoist his second U.S. Open trophy. Then, a few months later, he double-bogeyed the 72nd hole at Firestone to lose a World Golf Championship event.
This season he has played well, if unspectacular. In the mix at Tampa, he closed with a final-round 71 and settled for a tie for seventh, his best result of the season.
Furyk didn’t want to take three weeks off before Augusta, so he signed up to play here at TPC San Antonio for the first time. Course knowledge apparently was overrated, as he played only four holes in a practice round before play was wiped out because of inclement weather.
“I have a nice opportunity in front of me for tomorrow,” he said, “and I’d like to go out there and fire a good number.”